Akeem Appleton's EDM310 Class Blog

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Twenty-four hours without technology might seem like an everyday issue but for others, well, they would rather have a stroke then put their iPhone down for fifteen minutes let alone twenty-four hours. I must admit that I was never able to go the full twenty-four hours without technology, as required for this assignment. However, the problems that I faced were work and school related. Being self-employed I couldn't let my phone sit idol. The instructions did allow phones for work purposes but I would rather have been able to commit 100% regardless. The second issue that I faced is that it is finals time. Keeping up with classes is a must have during the end of the semester. Other than these two slip ups, I did well. No radio, on the drive the school. No TV during down times. Perhaps I will try this assignment at a later date. I almost feel like it would be somewhat relaxing to be able to turn off every form of technology and focus on yourself and the others around you.
I was intrigued by this assignment, so I did a Google search on other peoples no technology projects. This was one article that I found relatively interesting and I wanted to share this with all of you. A college student did an Amish Project with no cell phone, email or social media for 90 days. His story really makes you think about all of the ways that we no longer communicate with people and how we only communicate with people.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

My PLN is still not finished but it has everything on it that I need at this point in my life. I dont think my PLN will ever be complete because it is something that I will continue to use and continually make additions to. I have recently made a few additions to my PLN including the following: Google Maps, Yellow Pages, ESPN, Dictionary.com, and Ebay.

"Our group shuffled through several ideas before we came to, what we think, is the best one. We have been meeting at the lab, emailing and texting for a couple of weeks, pulling our ideas into one. Since EDM310 is a technology class, we think that it is important to get, first hand what teachers are lacking in the classroom. By interviewing students, teachers and parents we can hear their thoughts and better prepare ourselves for what we, as educators, are about to walk into following this class. Classrooms are well equipped with computers, Smartboards and even iPads but what else can we do to help the parents stay connected to the class? Are we utilizing these products to the best of our ability to teach our students? Do teachers have knowledge on these products that are provided for them to use?" -Kaylan Sheherd(Group members Byron Brye, Kaylan Shepherd, Akeem Appleton)

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Blog Post #13 was a bit of a challenge for me. I took three attempts and failed at trying not to use any electronic devices. One of the 1st things that happened to me was getting a text message from my football coach informing me of the workout –schedule. I can’t miss workouts so I definitely had to respond to each message. The 2nd encounter I had while trying not to use electronics was checking my jaguar email account. I check it every day. I was going try avoiding using it but I was waiting on a very important response from my advisor concerning registration. That’s our main way of communicating. The last encounter I had with trying not to use technology was my two other online classes, Math and Psychology. I have enough trouble trying to balance three computer-based classes so I definitely couldn’t get behind. I had to go online and do homework for math and take post tests for psychology. I never knew I depended on my cellphone or a computer so much. Media is all around us and we don’t truly appreciate it for all its worth. My students will learn that electronics and technology can be very helpful in our daily lives. They will learn to appreciate it and use it to better themselves for a great future.